The Characteristics of Virtual Child Sexual Abuse Material Offenders and the Harms of Offending: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Print Media

Lara Christensen; Noah Vickery

doi:10.1007/s12119-023-10091-1

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The Characteristics of Virtual Child Sexual Abuse Material Offenders and the Harms of Offending: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Print Media

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

The Characteristics of Virtual Child Sexual Abuse Material Offenders and the Harms of Offending: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Print Media

Lara Christensen and Noah Vickery

Sexuality & Culture, Vol.27(5), pp.1813-1827

2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-023-10091-1

PMCID: PMC10230470

PMID: 37360021

Appears in UniSC Diversity and Inclusion Research Collection

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Abstract

Criminology

Criminal justice

Child sexual abuse

Virtual

Cartoon

Child abuse material

Child sex offender

Media

UniSC Diversity Area - Life Stages

Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) has become a global problem. With technological advancements, a sub-type of material has emerged: virtual child sexual abuse material (VCSAM). Despite the far-reaching harms of this material, little is known about VCSAM offenders. Research has found some disconnect between the perceived harmfulness of VCSAM and legislative definitions, compared with CSAM. Given the media’s influential ability to shape public perceptions, this exploratory study aimed to: (1) identify the characteristics of VCSAM offenders and (2) explore whether the harms of VCSAM are represented in this reporting. For the most up-to-date data, the search spanned 1 January 2019 to 23 September 2022. Of the 160 newspaper articles that appeared, 25 met the inclusion criteria. Four themes emerged from the qualitative content analysis: (1) VCSAM is a form of CSAM, (2) potential for escalation in offending from viewing VCSAM, (3) offenders have preferences in specific types of VCSAM (with the sub-theme: written stories and documents are VCSAM too), and (4) offenders “didn’t know” the material was illegal. Overall, these findings were positive; how cases were reported may broadly educate the public about VCSAM offending, with articles signifying the harms of this offending. The current findings have the potential to contribute to prevention and intervention efforts, with utility in policymaking, criminal justice, media, and psychology disciplines.

Details

Title: The Characteristics of Virtual Child Sexual Abuse Material Offenders and the Harms of Offending: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Print Media
Authors: Lara Christensen (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
Noah Vickery (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
Publication details: Sexuality & Culture, Vol.27(5), pp.1813-1827
Publisher: Springer New York LLC
Date published: 2023
DOI: 10.1007/s12119-023-10091-1
ISSN: 1936-4822
PMID: 37360021; PMC10230470
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Organisation Unit: Indigenous Services - Legacy; Marketing and Communications; School of Health - Psychology; School of Law and Society; Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99730498902621
Output Type: Journal article